Dave Ashleigh

David "Dave" Michael Ashleigh (born August 8, 1943) is a former American water polo player who competed for the University of California Los Angeles. He participated in the 1964 Summer Olympics and the 1968 Summer Olympics. He later served as a Water polo and swimming coach for Modesto College.

Ashleigh was born August 8, 1943 in Pomona, California. He attended Whittier High School in Whittier, California, graduating in June, 1961. He played for Whittier High School's Class A Water Polo team in 1959, completing a nearly undefeated season. As a High School Junior at Whittier in 1960, Ashleigh lowered the Class B Division school breaststroke record, and set school records in both the Class A and Class B Individual Medley event. By 1960, Ashleigh competed in water polo for Whittier Coach Frank Poucher. In 1959, Whitier won the CIF Championship under Coach Poucher with a 5–2 win over El Segundo High School coached by Urho Saari, a US Olympic coach.

Subsequent to his time in collegiate competition, he competed and trained with clubs from 1963 to 1968, with both the Phillips 66 Water Polo Club and the Inland-Nu-Pike Water Polo Club. In 1965 and 1963, he earned All American honors from the NCAA in water polo. In both 1966 and 1965, UCLA won both NCAA championships and Pacific-8 conference championships. Ashleigh received All-American honors in his signature events of the 200 breaststroke and 400 Individual Medley.

1964 Tokyo Olympics Ashleigh participated in the 1964 Olympics with the U.S. team under Olympic Head Coach Urho Saari. The 1964 squad was eliminated in the first round of the 1964 Olympic water polo tournament in Tokyo, finishing in ninth place overall among thirteen competing countries. Members of the team included the brothers Paul, Ned and Chick McIlroy, Ralph Whitney, and Urho Saari's son Bob Saari. In their first game, the Americans lost 2–1 to a strong, tall and dominant team from Yugoslavia, where water polo was a major sport. The U.S. team was tied 1–1 with the team from Yugoslavia throughout the first half, with the Yugoslavians not taking the winning shot until the last four minutes of play in the second half. In their next game, the American team defeated the team from Brazil 7-1, but were subsequently defeated 4–6 by the team from the Netherlands, losing their chance to advance to the semi-finals. In an unusual twist, in the losing game against the Netherlands American goalie Tony Van Dorp, played against his brother Fred van Dorp. Tony Van Dorp had played for the Dutch Team before coming to America and gaining citizenship in 1957. After semi-final play, pre-games and perennial favorite Hungary took the gold medal, Yugoslavia took the silver, and the Soviet Union took the bronze.

1968 Mexico City Olympics Four years later as Captain, he participated with the U.S. team at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics in the 1968 Olympic water polo tournament under Head Olympic water polo coach Art Lambert. The U.S. team finished fifth overall among the fifteen countries competing. The 1968 Olympics were similar to the previous four Olympics in that the dominant teams from Hungary, Yugoslavia, the Soviet Union, and Italy made the semi-finals. In the end, Yugoslavia won the gold, the Soviet Union the silver, and Hungary took the bronze.

Careers Beginning around 1968, Ashleigh coached water polo at the Modesto Swim and Racquet Club which won the 16 and under Bay area championships during his coaching tenure. In 1970, while coaching the Modesto Racquet Club, Ashleigh taught at La Loma Junior High School. From 1970 to 1992, he coached water polo and swimming at Modesto Junior College, where he brought the team to 11 Conference Water Polo Championships.

Honors In 1983, he was inducted into the USA Water Polo Hall of Fame. For his collegiate performances in both water polo and swimming, he was inducted into the UCLA Hall of Fame in 2010.